No Questions Asked
by secretsofgray
Summary: Deidara owes a life-debt to Tenten, and now she's ready to extract payment - with interest. But of course, things go haywire and all hell breaks loose. Guess it's an occupational hazard, eh? DeidaraxTenten.  DeiTen
1. Chapter 1

**So, this is a little bit of an experiment. Shall be updated on an, "at the author's leisure," basis. **

**Never fear. I'm on a little bit of a trip right now. **

**Yes, this is DeidaraxTenten. Like I said, experimental. There's a little bit of backstory to this – all shall be explained, I promise. However, if there are any questions, feel free to ask. I'll get back to ya. **

**Disclaimer: I do not own Naruto.**

**x.x**

He woke up slowly, hazily coming back to the realm of the living. He wanted nothing more than to curl up and fall back asleep for a week – his muscles were sore and the covers were warm. But something nagging at the back of his mind screamed that _no, _he had to get up _now. _Much as Deidara tried to ignore it, it wouldn't go away. So he cracked his eyes open and sleepily sat up.

He went from half-comatose to alert in less than a second as he took in his surroundings and the memories of the past day came rushing back. His mind was a blur of a slightly cluttered room, a soft sofa, a bloody knife and an alleyway, a deal gone wrong and the faint smell of peppermint.

_And a voice on the phone._

"Yea," it was definitely a girl, Deidara decided. Probably young-ish, teenager age, maybe older. "No, I don't think anything serious. Uh-huh. Outside the apartment. Mhm. No, didn't look _that _bad. Right. Well – "

He drowned it out and did some quick thinking. The grunts from Entropy Corporations must've been more than unhappy with his answer, then, to do him in _that _badly. And this girl, whoever she was, must've found him and – from the looks of it – taken him into her apartment.

_Pretty stupid, if I was a rapist or murderer or something. _His perceptions were misconceived, however, because he heard her say, "No, uh-huh, nah, he's pretty small – " at this twitched. He was _slender _and _five-eleven, _thankyouverymuch. "Probably my age. Not gonna wake up for a while – "

Again, he drowned her out as he thought. He needed to get out, _fast. _If he was seen – God and Hell both help him if he was seen. But he couldn't just disappear – he was Bound by a blood-pact, and dammit, he was indebted to her.

Mentally swearing to himself as he caught the tattoos on his hands grinning at him, he silently grabbed a pen and paper off the nearby, very cluttered table, and wrote a quick note, leaving a number, a thank you, and a name.

With that he redid his rather messed up hair into a ponytail, lifted up the window, and was off, down the fire escape and a block away within five minutes.

It would be a year later until he heard from her again.

Xxxxxxxxx

Tenten bared her teeth in frustration and slammed the clutter on her kitchen table onto the floor in one savage motion. The flare of satisfaction at seeing everything crash and knowing that she was the one that did it, the feeling of being destructive solely for the sake of being destructive, marked the height of her anger.

She stared at the mess on her floor, panting, and then sat down at the now bare table and buried her face in her hands.

She was _so screwed. _

And the worst part was that this was _her entire fucking fault._

She knew it, and that was what made her angry. She could bitch and whine all she wanted, but her accusations were sophomoric. Sure, she might've been young and hopeless and left out to dry, but that's how she lived. The entire situation was her fault, and that was the left and right of it.

_Fuck fuck fuckfuckfuckfuckFUCK! _

It'd be suicide, if she was lucky. If she wasn't lucky (and let's face it, when you're talking about luck you might as well just pick one of Murphy's more cynical laws and apply it) then she'd be captured, tortured, and given something probably reserved for the lower two circles of hell.

And the _most _infuriating thing about it?

If the conversation less than twenty-four hours ago hadn't taken place, the entire situation could have been _avoided._

She had stood in front of the captain's desk, lax because that's how he wanted his soldiers to feel. _'We're not the goddamn military and we're not run like one.' _

Tenten used to admire him for it. Now she was cursing him. It was her fault for feeling comfortable and letting her temper take reign.

_The one day that my teammates decide to be out…ugh…_

She sighed again. Neji and Lee were out, on some other mission that, according to the Captain, _It's seedier than I like, Tenten. Too seedy for a girl._

God and hell both damn it, she could handle whatever they decided to throw at her!

But no, of course Neji with his goddamn sense of chivalry and Lee, who went beyond chivalrous in how he treated females, were all for her staying behind.

She had wanted to punch something, but instead opted to hit the bull's eye that was behind the Captain's desk with deadly speed and accuracy.

She hadn't proved her point. In fact, that gave Neji a fine opportunity to prove his.

In her anger, in the Captain's office with her two most trusted friends by her side – probably the only possible place her guard was _ever_ down.

So of course, Neji being the sneaky bastard he was, monopolized on it.

He had grabbed her wrist and shoulder and effectively pinned her to him – once she had realized _what_ was going on, he let go, saying, _"No matter what you say, Tenten, the fact remains that you are a girl._"

That, and some other bullshit, but she hadn't listened. She was _livid._

She was quiet for the first two days or so that Lee and Neji had been gone, but then she had begun to grow restless. She expected her missions to come, one or two a month, just as most girls expected their period. It was a natural thing, and when she wasn't assigned anything, she felt off.

Usually, on the off chance that that _did_ happen, Lee and Neji were with her, at least, and it was because it was a slow month. Not because she happened to have two X chromosomes.

So she had stormed into the Captain's office. The high-backed chair was turned, the back facing her, so she couldn't see the Captain. But she knew he was there.

So, naturally, she gave him a piece of her mind.

What proceeded was a strongly-worded rant, demanding a mission, complete with foul language, hand gestures (which were probably lost, seeing that the Captain wasn't facing her) and some creative swears picked up from some of the more grizzled men on the job that she specifically kept in reserve for situations like this.

But of _course,_ she picked the _one day_ that the Captain was out and the deputy had taken over.

Danzo. The Deputy, and a by-the-book man if there ever was one. When she saw it was he, and not the captain she had just ranted to, Tenten didn't even bother apologizing.

With a sadistic smirk, the Deputy gave her a mission – and Tenten didn't even have to get a debriefing to know that she had just signed her death warrant.

Sure, she had been out of line, but that didn't justify Danzo assigning her on a _solo _mission to _take out_ three different people of Entropy Corporations? _And_ retrieve the vials of Elysium (what the hell was that, anyway?) _while _the security system wasn't disabled? _Alone? _

She could handle a lot, but still…

If she was caught, it wasn't as simple as disabling her opponent and running away.

Entropy employed freakin' _hounds_ as their grunt muscle.

And they weren't just dogs. Their proper name was 'hellhound' and hounds from hell they were. As big as a bear, lean and mean, with fire in their mane and death in their eyes – they were the single biggest threat to Shinobi. One hound could take out an entire city block of civilians; two hounds could do the same to a group of high-ranking Shinobi.

And she had to face maybe _twenty_ of them _alone._

And she was here, at her kitchen table, in her apartment and there _was nothing she could do about it._

She groaned. Why couldn't she go to summer camp or something, like normal girls? No, instead she had a _legacy, _set by a father she never met.

She didn't even know his last _name._

But none of that mattered now – what's done is done, as they say- and she was in deeper than _ever._

But that might not matter now, because the best case scenario would be her _death._

_You can always back out, _the idealistic part of her mind whispered.

But she couldn't be an idealist – not when her life was on the line.

_Yea, but what then? This is how I make my living. Where would I go?_

She had been _raised _by Shinobi – the organization that was, for lack of better words, a classier version of a mafia. You came to the Captain wanting a job done, settle a payment, and then the Shinobi would take care of it. Fail-safe, really. No records accessible to the public, no legal boundaries, just an exchange of cash.

She groaned.

Maybe she could get one of her friends to help her out – call in a favor from Temari or Naruto. Danzo was a prick; she'd have support.

_But Temari's too far away and Naruto's in the hospital._

And, as she found out, _everyone else was on a mission or on leave._

Ugh. This was what sucked about being Bound – you couldn't defy orders, not matter _how goddamn much you wanted to_. Bend rules, yes, twist truths, sometimes, but directly defy orders?

She had seen firsthand what happened when you tried. The symptoms began with sweating, and in the beginning were similar to an asthma attack. Then it got worse – you were weakened, began coughing up blood. _Exhaustion_ was a tame way to put it – the _life_ was sucked out of you. It was a gruesome way to die, and happened in all of two minutes if you didn't submit.

She groaned again and began picking up the wreckage that used to be on her table.

_God, Tenten. When was the last time you cleaned up around here?_

She wasn't dirty, but she wasn't organized. She didn't mind clutter – she wasn't Lee with his meticulously organized flat, or Neji, who lived the life of a minimalist. After a hard week of training, school, and missions, she really just barely had the will to do laundry, let alone clean up simple _clutter._

So the notepad with the number on it caught her eye as she scooped everything up onto the tabletop.

Huh. It didn't _look_ familiar. What the hell was it doing here?

She scanned the note, and then remembered. Last year – that blond guy. He had passed out in the alleyway next to her apartment complex. He had the looks of Shinobi about him, if not something awful close. It might not have been the smartest idea, but Tenten had slung him over her shoulders and brought him inside. He was injured, obviously not a civilian – a fallen comrade in arms, in her opinion. She couldn't _not _help him.

She had called HQ and asked if there was anything amiss – but by the time she was off the phone he was gone. All that was left was a note, a number, a name, and a promise.

_Hey, girl – _

_Thanks for saving my ass back there. Don't know what you heard, but it's probably best that you forget it. Don't go sticking your nose where it doesn't belong._

_As it goes, I don't like owing debts. So, if you ever need help getting outta something sticky, call the number. _

_Any time, any place. _

_No questions asked._

_-Deidara I._

_And I'll bet that he's Bound. _

Tenten frowned, thinking back to the specifications of the mission. She bit her lip, mulling everything over. _It's been over a year. He probably doesn't remember…but then again, he's Bound by his word, too…and he _looked _strong. Eh, I think. Wasn't he kinda scrawny?_

The details were kinda fuzzy, but she was almost positive that he had had the lean build of a fighter.

_It's not like you've got anything left to lose. This mission doesn't get completed tonight, and you'll die _regardless.

So Tenten picked up a phone and carefully dialed the number written on the pad. It dialed, and she waited, steeling herself for whatever came.

It was picked up on the seventh ring. "Hello?"

"Remember when you said no questions asked?"

Xxxxxxxxxxx

Deidara had been icing his jaw when he got the phone call.

_One of the many joys of being Bound, eh?_

The bruise was the result of 'impudence,' or so his superiors would say. Deidara mentally kicked himself, but the look on the man's face, right before the back of aforementioned man's hand collided with his jaw – was priceless.

_You're on thin ice, Iwa._

Yea, right. He was one of the few in the Explosion Corps who didn't get blown up along with the target. As a soldier, he was practically irreplaceable. Killing him would result in many unfavorable outcomes for his murderer – and lucky for him, Kabuto knew this.

However, that didn't prevent him from asserting his authority like a freakin' queen bitch of the pack.

_Whines like a bitch and hits like one, too._

So when the call came, Deidara was almost fully expecting an exasperated Sasori, or perhaps a crass Hidan.

_Not _some little girl.

"Is this Deidara?" she asked. Her voice sounded timid, almost. As if she weren't completely sure about what she was doing.

_What?_

"Yea," he responded easily, mind whirring as to _why_ a girl would be calling him –not that he was complaining, but he had more important things to worry about. Such was the life of a Bound.

"Remember when you said no questions asked?"

It took him a second, and at first he was wondering when he had recently been drunk – but then he remembered.

_Damn, that was a long time ago._ He remembered hastily scrawling a note and then leaving through the window near the fire escape. And yes, he remembered –_I'll help you, no questions asked._

Stupid, he knew, but what choice did he have? He was Bound to finish the job and not be found; but, in all probability, that girl had saved his life, so he was Bound to repay her, too.

"Yea," he said, a lilting tone to his words. "I remember."

"Do you know where Seventh and Spring Garden is?"

A smirk played on his lips. Oh, he knew that area _very well._ "As a matter of fact, yea, hm."

"Meet me there. Midnight. Bring a weapon and wear black. I'll stick around for five minutes, and if you're not there, I'll assume you didn't show."

"Right," he said, but he was already listening to the dial tone.

_Seventh and Spring Garden…damn…what does she want, a body guard to a concert or something? Midnight? Black- weapon? Oh, shit. _

It was highly unlikely, but if she had to do what he thought she had to do…

Tonight, it seemed, was going to be a rather interesting one.

Xxxxxxxxxxx

Tenten had six hours.

She hung around, locked up the apartment, ate dinner and watched some mindless T.V. By nine she had eaten a Snickers bar – the instant energy was good for missions like these – and was gearing up.

Her basic ensemble consisted of black cargo pants and a specially-designed, not-even-available-yet Kevlar shirt. It was thin and appeared to be made of cotton to the eye, but on the contrary – it was as strong as spider's silk and guaranteed to protect her from ninety percent of would-be fatal wounds to her torso.

She tugged on her boots and gloves, put her hair up, and then chose her weapons.

Tenten was a weapon's mistress. She liked pointy things. She was knew how fragile the human body was. She was fascinated by how quickly the fragile human body could die when impaled with pointy things.

She had a beautiful relationship with her blades.

You could tell how difficult a mission would be by the weapons Tenten selected. Mass of shuriken and maybe a kunai or two? She'd be doing a hit-and-run. Crossbow? She'd be playing sniper. Hordes of throwing knives? You'd better believe she was expecting some close-combat fighting.

Tonight she would take her standard shuriken and kunai, along with her standard Swiss Army knife and skeleton key.

But tonight's _real_ difficulty could be seen in that she took her sword – a slick, sleek katana that had been given to her before she even knew what 'katana' meant.

She kept it at her side as she tried to sit still, watching T.V., but it was no use. She was jittery.

She was almost grateful when eleven thirty rolled around and she had to strap her sword onto her back and ride her motorcycle down to the rendezvous.

Motorcycles were the only form of transportation that Shinobi were allowed to take with them onto missions, unless it was a team job and a chauffeur was provided. The Captain said something about 'ambiguity, speed, easier camouflage and gas efficiency.' Tenten just thought that it made them look badass – but she wasn't complaining.

She was nervous – and it wasn't just pre-mission jitters. This guy – Deidara – what would he be like? He was Bound, sure, but still. He wasn't Neji or Lee, wasn't even _Naruto._ She had _no idea_ as to how he operated.

But she needed to get in her zone. It was a huge part of missions – getting into your zone, with just the mission, only the mission. False confidence it may be, but the single moment of indecision made all the difference.

_But that doesn't matter now. He said he'd help, and if he doesn't show up, so what. You're gonna do this, Tenten. No one can stop you. Indestructible. _

_Invincible. _

_Assassin. _

_Warrior._

_Those hounds had better _run_ when they see me, tail between their legs._

**Like I said, it was experimental and subject to tweaking. **

**As always, let me know your thoughts.**


	2. Chapter 2

**As promised, Chapter Two. **

**Thanks to everyone for the awesome reviews! You ROCK.**

**Disclaimer: I don't own Naruto, or anything mentioned from the 'real world.' If I did I would have better things to do than write fanfiction.**

**x.x**

At twelve-oh-three, Deidara arrived.

Tenten was leaning against her bike, arms crossed and body relaxed. Her eyes, however, kept darting around, scanning, searching. She was alert; had she been a cat, her ears would have been pricked and her tail would have flicked every-so-often.

Deidara waited in the shadows for a minute, making sure that no one was around. All he saw was the girl, geared up like the little hit man she was, leaning against a motorcycle.

It had to be her – hell, she was the only person in the area. But still, he was cautious, and when he peeled himself away from the shadowed stone wall and into the light, he said, "Am I supposed to meet you here?"

Her eyes flickered up, giving him a once over. He was in standard gear, she supposed, and if the SIG Sauer was anything to go by, he wasn't screwing around. Her eyes came to rest on his face and she nodded.

He could tell from here that she wasn't tall, but she had a certain glint in her eye, a certain tomboyish grace when she walked, a certain set to her shoulders that told him she was a modern-day mercenary and she was a force to be reckoned with.

Which really made him wonder what the hell he was doing here – _what does she want?_

"Tenten," she said, thrusting out a hand for him to shake.

"Deidara," he said, clasping it in his own. "So what exactly am I enlisted for, hm?"

"Ever hear of Elysium?" Tenten asked. There was no need to beat around the bush, she decided. Just get it over with and get it done.

"As in the fields in Greek mythology?"

"As in the substance."

Deidara let out a low whistle. "Yea. Liquid gold, hm. 'Specially in _our_ line of work."

Tenten arch an eyebrow. "'Our line of work?'"

Deidara gave her a quick once-over, taking in the gear and the weapons and the boots that looked like they could crush his skull. "You're not a normal girl, hm." They both knew damn well what their line of work was – she was smart, testing him though. A Bound couldn't outwardly say what Organization they made a blood-pact with, and for a situation like theirs it was probably best that way.

_If she's with an enemy Organization, I'll have to kill her. And vice-versa._

"And you're not a normal boy. I think that we've established this." She crossed her arms, tapping her fingers lightly. She wanted to get a move on, wanted to get this over with.

_Wanted to get out alive._

"Right, hm. But you're still Bound." He decided to ignore the 'boy' comment –_ I'm nineteen, dammit – _for the sake of decorum.

Not that he cared much for decorum – but they were probably under a time crunch and it might be best for all involved that the girl with a sword thought she was in the presence of a gentleman.

_Not _to say that he was a miscreant.

Tenten shrugged. "So are you. To – let me guess. Akatsuki? Shinobi? Or Jinchuuriki?"

A corner of his mouth twitched up. "That would be telling, wouldn't it?"

"So it would," she said coolly. "And if Elysium is really that valuable, especially in our line of work, then brace yourself. We're stealing X amount vials of it from Entropy."

"Are you suicidal?" The reply was quick, unfiltered, and probably really accurate.

This girl _had_ to be nuts. She was without a team, going into easily the richest corporation in the country – and possibly the world. And in his experience, hell, in _anyone's _experience, the more money an establishment has the more extensive the security system. He'd broken into Entropy once, and it was by sheer dumb luck that he hadn't encountered any Hounds.

_Not to mention that Akatsuki is affiliated with Entropy. If I'm caught I'll get beaten up worse than _last time.

Lucky for him, though, there was no official loyalty owed to Entropy – Akatsuki worked as a mercenary unit, which he was now _really freakin' grateful_ for.

Last time he had made a misstep in rank and had nearly paid with his life.

_And this is a little more than a misstep in rank._

But he was Bound – no questions asked. _And I've asked quite a few questions, haven't I?_

"Just Bound," she said with a grimace. "But it's about the same thing, huh?" A self-depreciating shake of the head, then a glance at her watch. "Let's get moving. We've got till six A.M."

XXXXXXXXXX

Deidara had never had the misfortune to come across a Hound hands-on, and he was already calculating the amount of alcohol that would be needed to purge the memory from his mind. They were pacing in the courtyard some thirty feet below them; it was pure luck that they were higher up and downwind. Even from here, they looked like some sick nightmare come to life.

He was perched precariously on top of a concrete wall, trying to avoid the masses of barbed wire that were tangled all around him.

_Looks like Entropy got smart, eh?_

They used to have traditional electric fences – back when he was still a mercenary and not with Akatsuki – and they had been easy to bomb through. It hadn't even required that many explosives – but now, with a freakin' five foot wall of reinforced concrete that was probably enhanced with some form of Resistance solution anyway.

He glanced over at the girl. She sat like him, trying to avoid the barbed wire – not that it'd do much serious damage, but it was a real pain and almost impossible to get out of your skin. She was staring intently at the floor plan for building A, if what he read was correct.

"You won't find anything in there," he told her. She glanced up at him and arched her eyebrow. "Oh?"

He nodded. "Building A's reserved for Hound breeding, hm. You want building C – that's experimentation. Elysium's gonna be in _there._"

She gave him a level look, one that he returned. He had no reason for lying, but the girl clearly wasn't the trusting type. Which was probably smart on her part, in retrospect.

She pocketed the map. "Whatever you say."

He felt the need to defend himself. "Hey, my life's on the line too, hm."

The girl winced ever-so-slightly. "Yea. Well, if we get outta this, I'll buy you a drink."

He snorted. "Like you're old enough to drink, hm." Well, in most areas he wasn't either. But she didn't need to know that.

"Bet I can hold my liquor better than _you._"

"Yea, right." In all honesty he was (to his chagrin) a lightweight – but this girl looked young and was a head shorter than him.

"Fine then," she said a competitive gleam in her eye. "We get outta this alive, and you're on, prettyboy."

"Fine," he muttered. "We gonna get on with this or what?"

"Hold on." And with a sudden movement, three poison-tipped kunai were sent into the midst of the hounds.

Deidara watched in sick fascination as the kunai hit their mark; not three seconds after they had realized that they were hit, the hounds were down and out for the count – sort of.

He shifted his gaze over to her. _She's just like Sasori. And that's a scary thought._ "C'mon," she said, and jumped down.

He followed her, and they were officially in Entropy territory.

Xxxxxxxxxxx

Tenten skirted the bodies of the Hounds. She wasn't sure if the dosage of Morthium was enough to kill them or just knock them out, and she didn't want to know. They were huge, and any hound, even a dead one, was threatening and morbidly beautiful to look at. Short, oily black fur, fangs the size of her forearm and eyes the color of rubies made an intimidating figure.

"A rather anti-climactic entrance, hm," Deidara muttered, a few footsteps behind her. She shrugged and said, "Stop snarking and how bout you help me find a way into the actual building."

He grinned. "No promises on the snarking, but…" he pulled out his special creation, began kneading it in his hands. "Give me two minutes. B&E is my specialty."

xxxxxxxxxx

"And _that's _how you make an entrance!" Deidara shouted to her as they ran down a hallway. It didn't matter what alarms they set off – Deidara had managed to blow a hole in the side of the building; a blessing in disguise, because it was right near the security room. No alarms would be heard and no security cameras would be able to record their progress – the explosion had destroyed the central system.

"Yea," Tenten muttered, as they skidded to a halt. "Remind me to get you a dictionary."

"What?"

"You clearly need to look up the definition of 'subtle." Tenten glanced around. The guards had all rushed to the main scene, and any they encountered would be made quick work of. Tenten didn't know if any Hounds were used inside, and she would rather not find out.

The hall they had run down now branched off and gave way to doorways. The Elysium, (at least according to Danzo) was located in room 00-7, wherever the hell that was.

She glanced at the brass plaque on the nearest door – 02-1. The door next to that was marked 02-2. "Alright. Find a staircase, we're going down." She jogged forward, found one. "Here."

They made their way down; so far they had only encountered one guard, and that was at the very beginning; most of them were probably distracted by the huge gaping hole in the wall, but still she kept her weapons ready. Deidara followed suit, keeping his gun at the ready. He wasn't a zealous trigger-happy guy, which spoke of professional training, but Tenten had the better aim – but bullets had a higher instant mortality rate than blades tended to.

"Ground level," Deidara murmured quietly as the landing diverged into another hallway. Tenten nodded, and they continued down.

She halted, and so did Deidara. She turned to him, and he nodded. Footsteps.

The security guard didn't even see them before he died.

Which was a good thing.

However, this particular guard was a Hound handler –

-which was indeed a very bad thing.

It rounded the corner, caught sight of them; for a second, or maybe an hour, Tenten wasn't sure, they stood in a deadly staring contest. Its lips were twisted into a devilish snarl, its eyes practically glowed ruby-red, and all she was paralyzed. She heard that Hounds had that effect on people – like a snake paralyzing its prey just by looking at it.

Then Deidara let off two shots and fire erupted in the Hounds mane.

"_Run,_" he hissed, grabbing her arm.

She didn't need to be told twice. They bolted just as the Hound pounced, and veered sharply to the right and ran down the stairs two and three at a time. The Hound was bigger, and had more bulk, but was still hot on their heels.

_But Deidara fired from point-blank range. Didn't it feel the bullets?_

Tenten pushed the thought from her mind. She'd dwell on it later.

It crashed into the wall as they made another sharp turn, and Deidara vaulted over the railing and onto the bottom level. Tenten followed his lead, knees hurting from the sudden twenty foot drop onto concrete.

"C'mon. You bought us maybe thirty seconds," she said, and ran down the hallway, checking the doors. 00-20, 00-21, 00-22…

"We're going the wrong way," she realized. "Dammit!"

"Fuck," Deidara grit. "We can't go back! Just move forward – it's a square…I think, hm."

"Can't you use any of that explosive?" Tenten asked. She could hear the _click, click, thud,_ of the Hound's gait, and prayed that it would crash into the wall when they turned left.

Deidara shook his head. "Too small a space, hm. It'd kill us!"

"Well looks like we're about to die anyway!" Tenten gasped. The Hound didn't crash this time – Deidara fired two more shots behind his back, and she blindly threw another poisoned kunai. Even behind her back, it hit its target.

"Did it slow?" she asked, risking a glance behind her back.

Immediately she wished she hadn't. _Nope. Then why did it work on the ones outside?_

Well, it slowed - just not by much. It was bleeding from three wounds in its shoulder and was making these awful baying sounds. Its mane was on fire – which meant that it was in hardcore attack mode.

_Shit._ Tenten glanced at the numbers on the doors. 00-1, 00-2,…

"It's going back again!" Tenten shouted at Deidara, "The numbers!" putting on a burst of speed she didn't know she had and _praying_ that the skeleton key would work – she jammed it into the lock and practically kicked open the door.

She dragged Deidara in with her and slammed the door shut, turning the lock and flicking on the light.

The room was strangely empty, with white walls, a white linoleum floor, a safe, and a man sitting on a stack of boxes. He clapped slowly, sarcastically, and gave them a little half-smirk. He was older, probably in his forties, with platinum-blond hair pulled back into a low ponytail. A Hound rested at his feet like a common golden retriever.

Before either Tenten or Deidara could speak, he chuckled. "Very good, very good. Dealt with the hounds, destroyed my security system. Tsk. That's going to cost a fortune to repair."

"_What?_" Tenten gaped at the man. _What's going on here?_ She kept her eyes on the Hound. It was lax, but still in the same room as her.

"What's going on, hm?" Deidara said, gun pointed at the man.

The man held up one slender hand. "Point that somewhere else, boy. You'll hurt someone."

"No shit," he growled. "Just what the hell is going on?"

The man gave a small smile. "I am Vex. Head scientist at Entropy. And I must say, congratulations on making it this far. Not many can beat a Hound – but then again, we are dealing with an Akatsuki and a Shinobi."

Before this information could be processed, Vex leaned forward. "And I have a proposition for you."

**Xxx**

**As always, let me know your thoughts.**


	3. Chapter 3

**Here's the third. A little later, cause it went under three separate drafts, but I got it now! I promise!**

**Disclaimer: I don't own Naruto. **

**Thanks for the awesome reviews!**

**x.x**

They didn't stick around to find out what proposition Vex had for them. Deidara fired several shots at the Hound, and Tenten threw a shuriken – by the sound the man made she _definitely _hit something – grabbed Deidara's wrist, slammed the door on the nose of the Hound, and _ran._

"You _so _owe me more than a drink," Deidara huffed as they ran. _Where's the other Hound?_ He shoved it into the back of his mind as they rounded the corner and ascended the stairs. Other Hound be damned. He just wanted _out _of here.

"You know what? We get outta here alive, I'll take you out to dinner," Tenten quipped, taking the stairs two at a time. "Now _come on!"_ She put on a burst of speed and ran. No matter who saw them – escape was their best bet, now.

They blew past guards, hardly giving anyone a chance to catch a good look before they were already ten yards away; a Hound began its pursuit of them, but there was the fence, right _there,_ and if they could just, _just_ make it –

But it was thirty feet tall and made of reinforced concrete.

_And a Hound _was on their heels.

_Talk about being between a rock and a hard place, eh?_

"Hold up!" Deidara shouted. "Cover your ears! Leave your mouth open!" he hurled a bomb – well, what Tenten _hoped _was a bomb – at the wall. It went off on impact, and, jarred as she was, she managed to run through it and continue until they were far away. She was hit with shrapnel, as was Deidara, but the Hound – and the security guards running after it – were the ones who took the brunt of the explosion.

They heard the sounds of another bomb – a second wave that Deidara had (in his humble opinion) ingeniously implanted – go off when they were nearly two blocks away. They stopped, panting.

_No one's following. We should be good. They have bigger problmes on them now – like keeping half a dozen or so Hounds contained. _

"Sh – shit," Tenten managed, gasping for breath and shivering on the grass. She picked herself up and dusted the seat of her pants off. Deidara wasn't much better, crouching with his hands on his knees as he recovered.

"Man, hm," Deidara eventually said when his chest stopped heaving, "You sure know how to show a guy a good time."

"Damn straight," Tenten said, a little steadier. "Let's keep moving…in case of whatever you did back there…yea. What was that?"

"C3," Deidara responded with a grin. "Comes in handy, hm?"

"Yea. C'mon." Tenten began walking swiftly. They were far enough from Entropy grounds to have little to fear as far as pursuit went, but nonetheless, it was best to leave the scene as soon as possible.

And Tenten, yet again, was _so screwed._

She had _failed. _

She didn't voice this though – that mission had been a failure from square one. Deidara had brightened her prospects, but looking back, she could make out all the holes in the plan. Danzo's directions had been off, that guy had been waiting for them – it was, at the very least, a setup.

They continued to walk in silence as they made their way back to where they met.

"I'll see you," Deidara told her as they parted ways. "But remember - I'm holding you to that date, hm." He winked, and gave a two-fingered salute. Over his shoulder, he called, "See you, girl, and good luck."

"Don't hurt yourself, Blondie," Tenten said with a grin, heading toward her bike. She waited a good five minutes before she actually drove away and back to her apartment.

The roads were clear; it was two A.M, which meant that you could easily do twice the speed limit and no one would give a damn. Tenten, however, stayed at the fifty-five the signs deemed legal. She wanted to delay getting back as much as she could.

Mainly because she couldn't _go_ back.

Failure literally wasn't an option in Shinobi. You were expected to behave just as the ninja of old did and do _everything_ to succeed or die trying – well, no. Ninja didn't die trying; they _kept_ trying until they succeeded.

_Yea. Apparently they didn't understand the concept of time restraints._

The way Tenten figured it, she had until about three P.M tomorrow before the effects of going against the blood-pact kicked in. Had the Captain been in, she would've asked for him to revoke orders, or allot her more time.

Going to Danzo now might as well be a death sentence.

_Hell, he'd probably sit there and watch while the Stigma took me over with a sadistic little grin on his face, the prick._

There were rumors – of breaking the blood-pact. The only person she knew who had done it was Itachi – four years her senior and an exceptional soldier. He – and his family – had worked for Shinobi.

That is, until something went wrong, Itachi went batshit, slaughtered his family and broke all ties with his Organization.

_And he wasn't affected by the Stigma. _

_And_ he made ties with a rival Organization.

It was practically revolutionary.

But no one had ever repeated his movements with results that didn't involve them dead.

That usually what Bounds who had failed did – they forsook their Organization and searched for a way to break all ties. You never heard of them again, though, mostly because they died. It made Itachi's case exceptional – one in a million.

But Tenten couldn't _not_ give it a chance.

Not that she planned on joining Akatsuki or Jinchuuriki –far from it. No, she merely wished to be free from Shinobi. Simple as that.

She'd do it, come hell or high water.

She broke into her own apartment through the window near the fire escape – she didn't want anyone seeing her and letting Danzo know that she was back. No, she needed to pack and she needed to be quick.

_Money. I'll need all of it. Uh, clothes. Food. Water. Weapons – the lighter ones. Basic first-aid. Lighter. Matches. _She went over a mental checklist in her head as she packed what clothes she could – not including the gear she wore – into the duffel. She crammed a medical kit in there, too, and another bag she dedicated to more clothes, food, water, and weapons. The valuables she couldn't carry with her she crammed into her safe and locked it, just in case she _could_ come back someday. All the money she had acquired was stuffed into a duct-tape wallet and zipped into her pocket.

She blinked, and stood around her apartment. It still looked lived-in, still looked like it was _hers._

_But it's not anymore, is it? Tonight's it._

She scrawled a note – a rather heartfelt one, too – to Lee and Neji, explaining the circumstances, and another, more curt and insulting one, to Danzo, which included the mission report. She signed _that_ one with a flourish, with the closing of _"your-bitch-no-more, Tenten."_

_Heh. Even in –what could be – death, I still get the last word. _

She felt a little badass, but it was quelled when she realized that _she'd never go back to her old life._

Being Bound, working for Shinobi – it was what she _knew._ And twenty minutes of frantic packing didn't really give you a lot of time to come to terms with that – with leaving _everything you knew._

Tenten swallowed. She'd try. Hell, she'd _try._ She could wallow in angst later – she needed to leave, _now._

With one last look around the apartment, she shouldered the duffels and flicked the light switch on her way out.

_Guess this is good-bye._

Against her morose thoughts, a smirk came to dance on her face.

There was maybe _one _more thing she could do before she left – _if_ she made it quick.

_A good-bye, and probably one of the better 'fuck-yous' in history._

x.x.x

**So, whaddya think of the direction it's taking? Criticism, comments, concerns? **

**As always, let me know your thoughts. **


	4. Chapter 4

**Disclaimer: I don't Own Naruto. **

…

Deidara was sitting in a diner booth, absently picking at the pancakes before him. His partner-in-crime/friend/rival, a man with striking red hair named Sasori, sat opposite him, observing and sipping his coffee patiently.

Deidara looked up and scowled. "Take a picture, hm. It lasts longer."

Sasori regarded him mildly. "Careful, brat. I'm still you're superior, you know."

Deidara grunted and began pouring packet upon packet of sugar into his own coffee. Sasori wrinkled his nose – he could only drink the stuff black, he had no idea how the kid loaded it with sugar and cream and wasn't diabetic, Bound or no.

But something was up with the boy; he wasn't set to his usual angry/chipper/sardonic self. He was _brooding._

_Which isn't good. Especially since there's stuff he needs to know._

"You know, you haven't insulted me once, brat. This is worrying."

Deidara glared up him. _Ah. Much better._ "And _what,_ you paranoid piece of shit?" he snarled, clenching his knife in a white-knuckled grip.

"I told you," Sasori said mildly, "It's worrying. And you were out late last night. Pein noticed."

_That_ got Deidara's attention. He scowled and began ripping the paper napkin. "I'm _allowed_ to go out, you know," he muttered.

"Yes," Sasori said impassively, "But you're being rather defensive, wouldn't you say?"

"What did Pein say?" he snapped.

"He asked me to ask you."

"Wonderful," Deidara hissed under his breath. Fine. He could tell the truth. Sort of. "I was with a girl, okay? _Happy?_ So now fork over you're cash to Hidan, hm."

"I don't know what you're talking about," Sasori sniffed, but Deidara (and the rest of the 'Leet Team of Akatsuki) knew of the bet on Deidara's and Itachi's sexuality. No one tried to keep it a secret.

Needless to say, the two boys _(men!)_ were less than pleased.

The childish, part of Deidara chimed, _At least you beat the guy in something. Sort of._

Though his money was still on Itachi being asexual, if anything.

"Riight," Deidara drawled.

Sasori rolled his eyes. "I'm just warning you, brat. Pein's being paranoid, what with the rise of Jinchuuriki. And Entropy was invaded last night, which means _we'll_ be on night duty."

Deidara groaned, partly because the job was distasteful and partly to cover up his shock. _Shit. _He wondered about the girl – technically she had failed her mission. What would happen to her? It was…disconcerting, to say the least, knowing someone, getting along with them okay, and then they're gone. And not even 'away,' gone.

_Dead and gone._ He pushed the thoughts to the back of his mind.

"What's the big deal with Entropy anyway, hm?" he grumbled. He had a thing against them, ever since some of the damned grunts left him to _die_ in an_ alley_ last year. Plus he didn't get it – okay, they were one of the biggest enterprises to rise in recent years, and they were pioneers in bioengineering, but it wasn't like they were on par with an Organization. They had relatively little influence influence.

Right?

Sasori regarded him for a minute, set down his coffee. "You're relatively new to the 'Leet faction of Akatsuki," he said, voice lowered. "So I guess you wouldn't know." He sighed and paused, as if contemplating how he wanted to present it. "You would agree that Jinchuuriki, Akatsuki, and Shinobi are the three main Organizations? Each is its own respective entity, hiring Bounds as warriors, trading manpower for cash, dabbling in alchemy on occasion. Whether you agree with the system or not, it is the cornerstone for today's society."

Under the table Deidara's fists clenched. Politics of any kind only succeeded in making him angry, but Sasori had several points. "Go on."

"Well," Sasori said, long fingers tapping on the table, "Entropy is beginning to make a name for itself. Another Organization, if you will. But instead of manpower, Entropy dedicates itself to scientific endeavors – and they needed the occasional gruntman who wasn't affiliated too closely with their corporation."

"That's where Akatsuki come in, hm."

Sasori nodded. "Exactly. But now Pein is being paranoid – more paranoid than usual – because of Entropy's most recent activities. They have, in short, discovered a way to break the blood-pact."

The man paused, and Deidara blinked. "What? Without the Stigma?"

Sure, Itachi _had_ found a way to break the blood-pact, but it wasn't a secret that the Stigma was affecting him. He was fighting it, and the affects weren't as severe as they usually were, but the fact still remained that he wouldn't live past thirty.

_Hell, he'd be dead now if not for Hidan and his constant supply of Elysium. _

Sasori nodded. "So you see how this could cause some…discord among the Organizations, Akatsuki in particular."

"Discord? If by that you mean an uprising," Deidara said flatly, trying to settle the knot in his stomach.

_Shitshitshitshit! _

Was that what Vex was talking about? His proposition? And if Deidara was identified as one of the perpetrators…_he_ would cause the uprising.

Another sage nod. "That's what Entropy thinks last night was. A whole side of the security building was totaled and several guards are dead, though nothing was stolen. It's a…curious case. And Akatsuki are highly suspect, the 'Leet team in particular."

"Because I'm sure Pein expressed his feelings on the 'breaking the blood-pact, hm."

"No doubt," Sasori said, sipping his coffee. "And naturally, what else could Entropy expect? Had they been smart, they'd have put in on the black market. _Not_ tell an Organization that bases its business on the blood-pact being unbreakable."

"Was this…endeavor…how long has this been in the running?" Deidara took a sip of his own sugar-with-coffee, trying to swallow around the lump in his throat. _Steady. _He was probably overreacting. After all, he was just helping a girl; nothing major, right?

_Wrong, and you know it._

"The experimentation has taken place ever since Itachi's departure from Shinobi; about five or six years now. Pein knew about it, but none of us thought that it'd succeed."

Deidara swallowed. "And what do they plan on doing with this…discovery, hm?"

Sasori shrugged. "I've not a clue. From what we understand, they haven't found any guinea pigs. But from what the scientists say, they've hit it spot on." He sat back, satisfied with what he'd said.

_This…this is definitely what Vex was talking about. It _had_ to be. A proposition…Tenten...she was definitely set up. All the signs are there. The first guinea pig._ "What about the other Organizations, hm? What do they know?"

A corner of Sasori's mouth tugged up. "That's exactly the question; while Akatsuki and Entropy are pseudo-allies, we don't know of the corporation's relationship with other Organizations. It's very…under-wraps."

_Under-wraps indeed. Unless we're still playing the 'Deidara is the young bull of the pack,' and he's not telling me everything._

Maybe. Sasori didn't lie; he may twist the truth to the point where it looked like Konan's origami compared to the facts, but he didn't lie. He may not be telling something, but what he did tell…

"Why are you telling me this?" He looked up from the mutilated pancake and started right at the man.

Sasori wasn't intimidated in the least. "I may be with Akatsuki but I'm a poison specialist. A scientist, if you will. I'm privy to information that even Pein doesn't know. And I'm not stupid, brat; it's only a matter of time before Pein puts two and two together. But I figured that I should at least throw you a bone."

Deidara had to use every ounce of willpower not to pale considerably.

_He knows. Oh god, he _knows.

_Are you surprised?_

"What do you mean 'put two and two together', hm?" whilst it probably wasn't wise to test Sasori's patience, he _had_ to try and argue – it was practically knee-jerk reaction by now.

Sasori shot him a _Look_ that practically screamed, _Oh, please._ "Listen to me, Deidara," he said. This time Deidara _did_ pale; he couldn't remember another time when Sasori actually used his name. "Konan _knows._ She's giving you a sporting chance, if you will, to get your ass out of town; because once Pein finds out…"

"No matter where I am, once Pein finds out, I'll be dead anyway, hm. Blood-pact, remember?" Deidara had abandoned arguing, playing dumb. He didn't know how Sasori knew (probably something to do with 'being privy to information even Pein doesn't know') but there was no bullshitting his way outta this one.

Sasori actually hit him over the head. "Did _anything_ I just tell you stick inside that thick skull of yours, brat? Entropy. Guinea pigs. Breaking the blood-pact. _Buying time._" The set of his eyebrows and the line of his lips told Deidara that his patience had almost run out.

_Right. Chance._ "You're _sure_ Pein knows?"

Sasori snorted. "You broke into a mass corporation that employs Hounds, have a unique explosion technique that is easily identifiable, and left your scent all over the place. Pein isn't the Captain of the 'Leet for nothing- how long do you think you have, brat?"

_Right. God, that really_ was _a suicide mission._

_But…just one more thing._ "Why are you telling me this?"

"Because," Sasori said, his tone serious, "I have a bet with Hidan. And I'm not about to lose."

And then he stood, set down money on the table (exact change, no doubt,) tapped Deidara on the temple (_Just remember to use this, eh? And call me. I'm interested to know what the hell you'll be getting up to,)_ and left.

It took a minute for everything to sink in.

_Oh shit…_

Dammit! What the hell? He – the one time he's being a nice guy (sort of) and shit happens! _Why?_ And now he was without a home, without a purpose, practically a convict and on the run.

_And god knows who's gonna be after my ass if the Stigma doesn't get me first…_

He'd built up a n_iiice_ reputation for himself over the past five years; three of which he spent alternately running from the authorities and being hired out as a mercenary bomber, two of which he'd spent on Akatsuki's 'Leet team. Pein's influence had managed to protect him from his past, but now…

_I'll dye my hair, get outta town. Maybe contact entropy, offer myself as a puppet. Or something. Dammit, on the run again. FUCK! _

He couldn't think clearly; his mind was still spinning because one conversation had just turned his life inside out.

_Calm down. First, you need to pack. _

Right. Pack. And pay for his (largely uneaten) pancakes. He called a waiter for the check and scooped up Sasori's money. The bills were stuck under a napkin and the coffee mug and –

_What did he write?_

Sasori must've written something, because on the napkin in his trademark purple ink, a short message was written.

_Ask for Vex. Tell him I sent you._

_Bring the girl if you want a chance._

_Good luck, brat. Don't let me down._

It was signed with a large, flourishing 'S.'

Deidara couldn't tell if he was flattered or offended; and when the hell did Sasori have time to scrawl this down?

_It's Sasori. Don't be surprised. And great, now you have to look for the same guy from last night…ugh. What a drag._

It was his best shot though, right?

_Ugh…_

All he had wanted was to be an artist. Not _this._

x.x.x

Deidara stared at his phone for a good five minutes before he bucked up and dialed the number.

_Answer…answer…answeransweranswer! _

She did, thank the powers that be.

"Hello?"

"You're screwed too, hm?"

She didn't ask who it was. "And what if I am?"

He couldn't help but smirk at the challenge he heard in her voice. "Then we're in the same boat."

"Huh," she said. There was a second of static, then, "Seems like that boat is sinking."

"Not yet, hm. I don't know how much longer we have, but meet me where we met last night. I…found a way out, hm."

"A way out, huh?" Tenten said, and paused. Deidara waited with baited breath; he _hated_ this, hated having to rely on someone else and their answer, but he valued his life, thankyouverymuch. He wasn't about to give in and let Pein completely and utterly destroy him until he was one of the Grunts. He didn't know much about the other Organizations, but he knew that both Jinchuuriki and Shinobi had methods (other than the Stigma, naturally) of Degrading warriors; Jinchuuriki reverted soldiers to Berserkers and from what he understood, Shinobi brainwashed them into Freaks, plain and simple.

Neither were very pleasant, and the Stigma was probably almost kicking in on her now.

"Yea," he said. "Seventh and Spring Garden. Be there ASAP. It's the only chance, hm."

"Give me thirty minutes." And then he was alone with the sound of the dial tone.

x.x.x

**I'm thinking of writing some more stories in the same world as this when this one's actually closer to being done. Not sure yet, but the plot bunny is there. **

**As always, let me know your thoughts **


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